Egypt's Sinai residents gather to demand return to their homes

Residents of the Sinai region have gathered to demand that Egyptian authorities allow them to return to their homes, according to a rights group. 

Sinai for Human Rights posted footage on Monday of hundreds of displaced people gathering in the area. 

Since 2013, the Egyptian army has destroyed over 12,000 homes in the province and closed off 6,000 hectares of farmland, displacing thousands, according to Human Rights Watch. 

Cairo has justified the demolitions and evictions as necessary in its fight against Wilayat Sina, a local Islamic State (IS) group affiliate responsible for attacks against civilians and military targets.

Egyptian authorities have reportedly begun logistical preparations for setting up tents in the Sinai cities of Sheikh Zuwayed and Rafah in the event of a mass exodus of Palestinians, according to a report in Mada Masr earlier this month.

Palestinians from Gaza told MEE that forced displacement to Sinai would be akin to a "second Nakba".